Apple, after acknowledging its growing use by enterprises, reportedly has hired former National Security Agency analyst, U.S. Navy cryptographer, and author David Rice to direct the tech giant’s global security efforts. The move is seen as a response to security-conscious business customers expressing interest in the iPhone, iPad and other Apple products.
Rice, expected to start at Apple in March, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1994 and received a master’s degree in information warfare from the Naval Postgraduate School. He was a Global Network Vulnerability analyst with the NSA and a Special Duty Cryptologic officer in the Navy.
In 2007, Rice published Geekonomics, a book comparing security weakness in software to overburdened and aging bridges and other infrastructure.
Apple, once viewed with suspicion by business, is now being welcomed, as Research in Motion’s once-tight grip on the corporate customer loosens and the tech giant visibly increases the importance of security. In 2010, Apple lured Microsoft’s security head for XP Service Pack 2 as the Cupertino, Calif. company’s senior security product manager. Also, the company is working with Unisys on security.
At last week’s revenue call, Apple announced more than 88 of the Fortune 100 companies use the iPhone and 80 of the Fortune 100 firms are either using or testing the iPad.
The recent hire by Apple is just the latest sign of the company’s growth beyond a consumer-oriented business, further expanding the reach of the iPhone and other products.
